Joe Johnson? Gone. Marvin? Gone. Danny Ferry? A keeper
A week later, the Atlanta Hawks have been transformed. (AJC photo by Johnny Crawford)
It took Danny Ferry a week to turn a franchise going nowhere into one with room again to grow. It took him a week to reach an agreement to send Joe Johnson to the Nets for a bunch of guys whose principal value rests in the expiration dates on their contracts. It took this general manager a week to ship Marvin Williams, enduring symbol of opportunity squandered, to Utah.
To follow the Hawks is to expect the worst, which means the initial response to this watershed Johnson deal was to figure it would be overturned on some technicality. Maybe we shouldn’t be fatalistic. At the rate Ferry is moving, he might be able to convince the NBA to replay the final seconds of Game 6 against Boston from 1988, and make it so that Dominique Wilkins (and not Cliff Levingston) takes the last shot this time.
A week ago we wondered if/when Ferry would dare to tamper with the Core Four. On Day 1 of Week 2, we got our answer. Ferry gored the Core without having to deal either Josh Smith or Al Horford, and by offloading Johnson he turned this capped-out club into one with a hangar’s worth of financial headroom.
Shedding Johnson’s contract was the only way the Hawks could get better. He makes $20 million per season, which is roughly one-third of what the NBA allows to fund an entire roster. It’s one thing if your $20-million-man is Kobe Bryant, but Johnson, over the two years since he re-upped, has sunk to being third-best among Hawks.
There are two wonders at play: That the plodding Hawks would find a GM bold enough to do what needed doing, and that he’d find such a willing partner. But the Nets are moving to a new arena in Brooklyn and they’re coming off a 22-win season and they’re looking to compete with the Knicks and Linsanity in their big-city marketplace, so they need someone of substance to pair with Deron Williams.
They’re also the property of a Russian named Mikhail Prokhorov, who is rated by Forbes the 57th-richest man in the world. Thus did super-sleuth Ferry identify the only NBA owner who could look on Johnson’s contract and not hurl.
Let’s not kid ourselves. There’s every chance the Hawks will be worse, basketball-wise, next season. On talent, a slightly diminished Johnson is still better than anyone the Nets are slated to send here. (Poor Marvin, however, won’t be missed. He might have been the league’s least essential starter.) That’s how the NBA works: To get better, you must get lucky in the draft or spend big in free agency, and the Hawks were positioned to do neither.
It wasn’t all his fault, but Johnson had become the flashpoint for Hawk failings. He wasn’t quite as good as they needed him to be, and his contract kept them from hiring better players to put around him. (Let’s not fault him for signing what was proffered. You would’ve, too.) But Johnson didn’t endear himself to fans, and it’s never a marketing plus when your biggest name is a sourball.
Neither was it Williams’ fault that Billy Knight chose him over Deron Williams and Chris Paul in 2005. But Marvin played so long here — seven full seasons — to so little effect that it became impossible to watch him without thinking of the point guard not taken. And that, sad to say, was just like the Hawks: They’d whiff in the lottery, and they’d hand Johnson a new $120 million deal at the time they planned to de-emphasize his Iso-Joes.
The Hawks had come to occupy a terrible place: The team as constituted had gone as far as it could, and without cap room there was little hope for tomorrow. Now there is. The Hawks will have money to spend next summer, when Dwight Howard and the aforementioned Chris Paul figure to be free agents. The team with no future just traded for one.
And the new man in charge? Well, he’s in charge. In four years as Hawks GM, the best move Rick Sund made was to trade for the sixth man Jamal Crawford. In seven days, his successor has halved the Core Four and moved the immovable contract. Which would seem to make Danny Ferry an irresistible force.
By Mark Bradley
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309 comments Add your comment
richy
July 3rd, 2012
1:12 am
The Hawks may be horrible next season. Hell if Smith or Horford goes down we will be bobcats bad. But these moves are setting us up for success. Id rather be set up for success than revel in mediocrity.
CajunStorm
July 3rd, 2012
1:16 am
Yes, Danny Ferry has made it clear he is the undisputed Executive of the Year before the season even begins. Just don’t stop NOW…….
Go all in and give up Horford, Teague, and the 1st round pick we just got….maybe another expiring contract if you have to, but go get DWIGHT!!
Al Horford is the player that must go….and I LOVE AL HORFORD!!! But in this game of NBA Poker this off season Danny Ferry is killing the field. Anyone that plays Poker knows that the Man with the BIG STACK is the unheralded Bully of the table. With Orlando out of the picture and Dwight publicly disgruntled, NO WAY Orlando passes on a starting PG (Teague) AND an All-Star (Horford). Add to that the fact that Josh Smith Starting PF and Anthony Morrow potential mainstay SG either starting or backing up John Jenkins.
Any Hoo…No Way Dwight leaves his 2 best buds AND his hometown in the winds…..same goes for Smoove. Make the trade, Danny, then sit Josh and Dwight down and tell em….this is YA’LL CITY and when I’m done Wheelin and Dealin YA’LL will have the opportunity to bring a Ring to your Hometown!! NO WAY they don’t buy in!!!
CajunStorm
July 3rd, 2012
1:20 am
Besides if Mr. Ferry (Respect) makes the deal stated above for Dwight and both Josh AND Dwight decide to bounce we are stuck with about 3-4 bench players and OHHHHHHHHH, IDK about $50-$55 Million in cap space to rebuild. It’s a WIN-WIN!!!
Columbus
July 3rd, 2012
1:20 am
Dwight wants to go to tbe traded to the Nets. Do nto know how that will work with the trade going down. Hope it doesnt stop the trade….
Maybe with Ferry running things, Dwight and Josh can get together and talk about playing together in ATL. Its a new era and with both being local and the Hawks having money and flexibility, well, stranger things have happened.
Regardless, no matter what happens, everything is going to be OK with Ferry pulling strings, good draft picks coming in via trade (if its held onto) and after sucking this year, instead of being stuck in limbo…..
A new and VERY good coach could also be in the works with the extra cash saved in 2012…..
The deal is NOT final yet. Lets believe it will be!
Columbus
July 3rd, 2012
1:30 am
Dwight has said he will not re-sign with anyone but the Nets. That could stop this trade because if Williams resigns with the nets, they will not sign Dwight too unless they trade Williams or Joe for Dwight. It wouldSUCK if the Nets are using the Hawks to get the Magic to move Dwight now. That would suck. I do not know if its too late for the Nets to back out and if they did what the consequences would be. But if I am the Nets, I would be saying hold on and lets see what we can work out with the Magic…..wouldnt you? I mean Dwight wants to go to the Nets. If the magic do nto trade him to the nets when he has said he will NOT resign to ANY other team the magic trade him to, that means the Magic will not likely get jack for Dwight since the otherteams KNOW that they cant resign him. The other teams would want a sign and trade most likely. Dwight is screwing with the Magic and the Nets and the Hawks at this point and with this deal, I would think. How can the nets not say hold on, we have a new development….Do not you think the Nets and Magic are talking right now? How can they afford Joe, Williams and Dwight? They cant. Maybe the trade agreement is binding, I dont know since nothing is official or can be signed until the 11th. Time will tell.
Oh yeah, Braves lost ANOTHER Monday game….
superiorblogman
July 3rd, 2012
1:38 am
I don’t get it. You can not build around a coward punk like Josh Smith. You can not let that fool run the team telling you who he wants here in his buddy Dwight. We gave Joe away. That was not a trade that was a giveaway we got nothing of value back for Joe. We are not getting Howard people. Brooks, Lopez, Wallace, and how many ever 1st round picks it takes are going to the Magic for Howard and some bad contracts from the Magic.
Our end game is not going to be pretty for a while and this is not a city that will sit through a total rebuild. Josh has to go, but Ferry can not keep giving away assets.
Columbus
July 3rd, 2012
1:56 am
Oh but we DID get something back for Joe…a 1st round draft pick AND 20 MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR TO SPEND ON WHOEVER WE PLEASE! Hawks might sign a Chris Paul. Thats like trading Joe for a Chris Paul basically. We got 20 miilion dollars a year PLUS players for Joe and a 1st round draft pick! 60 million total dollars for Joe Johnson. Pretty sweet trade if you ask me. Come summer 2013 or sooner, Hawks will be like the New York Yankees! Add Marvins salary and thats almost 30 million extra to go with Ivan and Al and Zaza and Teague and maybe even Josh. Maybe. Josh better get his heart in the Hawks team or he will miss out too. He is going to want big money and I would rather give it to someone who wanted to be here and who would play smart instead of doing his own thing. The city will sit through an entire rebuild. A ONE year entire rebuild at MOST. Win and they will come. Who knows what Ferry plans to do and how soon. The right players might be available now if they can come terms. All I know is that Ferry is making the moves he had to make to be able to do ANYTHING! The rebuild WILL be over come 2013. Dont trade Joe and there will NOT be any rebuild and we will be sitting around waiting on Joes contract to expire 3 years from now for the most part and signing role players for nothing and signign NOTHING we NEED. No SIGNIFICANT additions.
yodaddybrother
July 3rd, 2012
2:04 am
Best thing to ever happen to the Hawks franchise. EVER
Columbus
July 3rd, 2012
2:06 am
Excuse me, the Hawks get 90 Million dollars for Joe Johnson….
Dr. Warren
July 3rd, 2012
2:45 am
For all you naysayers, Dwight Howard might want to come to Atlanta if the franchise were run completely differently. I am sure Josh Smith is reconsidering his desire to leave too. Atlanta is the 7th biggest market and had the 4th or 5th highest TV ratings for the NBA finals. Chris Paul wanted to be drafted by the Hawks originally. Atlanta will support an NBA franchise that shows it’s serious about winning by getting the stars needed to do so.
cory dillinger
July 3rd, 2012
3:34 am
Once again I say cap room means nothing if you can’t get free agents….last time we had cap room we got…hold your breath… JOE JOHNSON
clay
July 3rd, 2012
3:53 am
Here is the latest…We will possibly send Horford and teague along with a couple of other players for howard and send harris and some other guys out to la for paul. If that happens then WOW.
clay
July 3rd, 2012
3:54 am
This is not the same franchise anymore people, the owners are not selling and letting ferry have complete control of the team. It’s all upward from here.
Manny
July 3rd, 2012
5:27 am
That’s it! When does season tickets go on sale? I’m buying!
I dropped my fried twinkie
July 3rd, 2012
5:32 am
WOW…………..Danny hit the ground running for sure.
DJ
July 3rd, 2012
5:47 am
I’ve seen this B-MOVIE before.
Manny
July 3rd, 2012
5:50 am
Let me say this before I workout:
Danny Ferry retained $80 Million in salary with these moves. Why do I have the suspicion that we may see an Atlanta Celtics reunion soon?
See, I think that the Hawks can compete for Howard now. I also believe that Howard will see and believe in Danny Ferry to build a championship team. Plus, Josh Smith is still here, who has been trade bait for about 4 years now.
Also, Dwight’s from Atlanta (I remember him playing out in Norcross at that Christian Academy. Plus, he can go back to his home church.) Atlanta is an upside.
So to take inventory, the Hawks looks like they’re committed to making a change, they play in Dwight’s hometown, they got the money and his old AAU buddy is on the phone.
Blob Horner
July 3rd, 2012
6:27 am
Enter your comments here
p
July 3rd, 2012
6:31 am
I know everyone’s an expert on bball in ATL, but hetting rid of uncoachable Marvin and overpaid Joe has been long over due. I’m surprised anyone took Marvin
Hawkfan
July 3rd, 2012
6:32 am
Great move by Danny Ferry. No doubt about it.
I do want to thank Joe for his efforts here. The guy gave it his all and often was all we had. I remember him scoring 30 being triple teamed. Maybe not a superstar but he should be remembered fondly here. Don’t hate a man cause he’s overpaid. Wish I was overpaid
Big Ray
July 3rd, 2012
6:40 am
Ferry does what has long been in need of doing.
And now Rod from College Park no longer has a reason to post.
Big Ray
July 3rd, 2012
6:40 am
http://www.foxsportssouth.com/07/02/12/Reports-Hawks-trade-Johnson-Williams/msn_landing.html?blockID=755446&feedID=3981
Says it all…
I dropped my fried twinkie
July 3rd, 2012
6:43 am
It seems like the Owners finally HIRED a person with a Business and Basketball Brain. Let us just HOPE the owners stay out of the way and let Danny do his job.
Blob Horner
July 3rd, 2012
6:44 am
The Hawks have had four teams in 48 years on par with this one. The best was the one we inherited from St. Louis, the Doc and Dominique teams were a close second, last season’s team and perhaps the Mutombo, Smith teams just behind. The nail in the coffin for the St Louis team was the failed Pete Maravich experiment, netting Dean Meminger, we brought in Reggie to put the D &D team over the top. He did have a nice perm, i must say. The Mutumbo team was dissolved for the Pau Gasol draft and trade, which we squandered for another over-rated homeboy. Hawks History tells us that when we dismantle a good team for something better, it’s a long process back to the level we weren’t satisfied with to begin with. At least there are some good blue prints on the rack for how not to go about it. Hopefully Mr. Ferry took a look at those first.
Hawks 4 life
July 3rd, 2012
7:02 am
Love the deal for Marvin. But why does Babcock pt 2. think he will lure Howard or Chris Paul without the core JJ, Josh or Horford. Draft picks these days are all projects ( exhibit A Marvin Williams.) How many NBA teams have 2 all start players & you feel you should dump them for the the unknown?
The NBA model is you draft & keep your stars. The only franchise player to leave their team was Lebron. to go to South Beach over Cleveland Last ime I checked this was not South Beach. Tell me what about this deal makes me want to go through the 12-13 season. We tried this before & it took 8 years to get back to the playoffs. Thanks for bringing the Bobcats to Atlanta.
Welcome to the Thrash Compactor will be our new slogan for the next 5 years. Then the team will be sold & moved to Seattle because the owners will complain about poor attendance.
Thanks Ferry for nothing!
Joe Johnson | NewsTrendr
July 3rd, 2012
7:14 am
[...] of the Brooklyn NetsYahoo! Sports (blog)Notes: Hawks deal Joe Johnson to the NetsBoston.comAtlanta Journal Constitution (blog) -San Jose Mercury Newsall 561 news [...]
59bulldawg
July 3rd, 2012
7:17 am
Great job thus far! But it all will be for naught if DF brings Dwight Howard to Atlanta. Howard is a cancer! Plus the type of money it would take to get him would put the Hawks back in the same “huge contract-poor attitude” situation it had with Johnson. Howard may be a great talent but he’s also a royal pain in the ass to coach. The Hawks don’t need another problem.
Hawks_4_life
July 3rd, 2012
7:28 am
Enter your comments here
Morning Reads For Tuesday July 3, 2012 — Peach Pundit
July 3rd, 2012
7:30 am
[...] Hawks new GM Danny Ferry will trade Joe Johnson and Marvin Smith. Hallelujah! – The Big Braves fell to the Cubs last night but the G Braves snapped a 15 game losing [...]
Hawks_4_life
July 3rd, 2012
7:30 am
Welcome to the “Thrash Compactor”.
GT
July 3rd, 2012
7:32 am
Ferry is a basketball man, it is in his blood. He was an amazing college player. Not bad in the pros, but skill was not as good as his brains.
His contacts in this game must be some of the best. Not only was his father a player and executive in the NBA, he comes form Duke, the biggest feeder to the NBA. The administration at Duke is the same as when he was there and I am sure Coach K will refer any talent he sees to him wth a scouting report along with a dozen other Duke alum coaching in the college ranks.
Dave
July 3rd, 2012
7:33 am
Think about it… if they hadn’t picked up Joe Johnson, Belkin wouldn’t have gone lawsuit crazy, and we’d still have the Thrashers. The so-called “atlanta spirit” group are a bunch of jerks. I hope the Hawks leave town too, and I hope Philips Arena falls down with their grandmothers standing in the middle of it.
Peachtree John
July 3rd, 2012
7:37 am
COACH. What about a legitimate NBA coach to bring focus to all these average players for now, but potentially great players next year. And why do we have to wait until 2013 to go after Howard, or another great center? As I understand, we NOW have room to deal. Don’t want to get too optimistic, but hopefully Danny has more moves in mind before the dust settles. I’ve waited since Pete Maravich was here and hoped since then.
Sammy Hagar
July 3rd, 2012
7:42 am
Devin Harris is a keeper.
GM
July 3rd, 2012
7:42 am
Danny Ferry should be named Executive of the Year (heck, decade for that matter) right NOW for his humongous additions by subtraction. Brooklyn will be terrible for years to come for this trade.
Sammy Hagar
July 3rd, 2012
7:46 am
So does Josh stay now?
mark
July 3rd, 2012
7:48 am
Player hater say what!!!! Go Danny go Danny!
Hawks_4_life
July 3rd, 2012
7:48 am
So for all the DF lover’s save this blog & replay it this time next year when he comes up with zeros & the talks of the team moving to Seattle start.
John
July 3rd, 2012
7:49 am
I understand you guys wanted to break this team up at all costs, but I have been a fan through the rough times and I don’t have tons of faith that the right moves will be made from here. Do you really think Chris Paul is going to leave LA and Blake Griffin? I don’t. Dwight Howard will not sign here and is getting ready to be traded to the Nets. We have helped create another monster in Brooklyn now. These superstars that everyone thinks we will be able to sign do not grow on trees and I strongly doubt we will be able to lure one here. Ferry gets an A for effort but I don’t see how we are going to be able to take the huge jumps forward like everyone is acting like.
Sammy Hagar
July 3rd, 2012
7:49 am
Try to trade Josh for a 1st rnd pick in 2013 and a 15ppg pforward.
John
July 3rd, 2012
7:50 am
Actually we have wasted a really good team and foundation on cheap, ineffective coaches.
Tree Rollins
July 3rd, 2012
7:51 am
Kudos to the owners-they give Ferry a 6 year contract & within a week watch him/allow him to deal their their franchise player for scraps & trade away Marvin. Dont think selling the owners on the idea of trading Marvin would have been difficult-but Johnson…Larry Drew has got to be out of there soon too btw.
Owners/Mgmt-nice work-rebrand the Hawks-get rid of the silly logo & make Hotlanta be the destination. C’mon baby!
John
July 3rd, 2012
7:51 am
Honestly, who will we be able to sign in the coming years. Bradley, your optimism is wasted if you are banking on Chris Paul leaving LA or Howard. Who else is there to make us any better than we have been the past 5 years? I really want to hear realistic names because I think people are so focused on getting rid of Joe’s contract that they don’t really think about what happens next.
BravesFan79
July 3rd, 2012
7:52 am
People calm down on the lotto team idea. Blowing the team completly up is a Terrible idea, if it was that easy, the Clippers wouldnt of been terrible for 20+ straight years. With Smith/ Horford, plus the shooting of Morrow/ Jenkins and driving ability of Teague, the Hawks will again be a top 5 team in the East next year!
Who will be better? Not Indiana after loosing Hibbert. Not Orlando after loosing Howard.
jlewis
July 3rd, 2012
7:54 am
ATL got suckered, superiorblogman hit it right on the head. Howard, Williams, Johnson, Wallace and some fill ins like Miami. Orlando will get the best players and draft picks. Ferry was not brought in here to bring a winner, he was brought in to gut the team and possibly sell it later or operate on the cheap and make money. Doesnt matter what you think, JJ is a highly regarded player around the league. ATL is now a scrub team, and will be for a while, the draft has sucked for years, you maybe get one player, wow.
Tree Rollins
July 3rd, 2012
7:54 am
I think we’re going to see L Drew replaced by the midway point of the season-Ferry is making bold moves-who’s on short list? Sloan is an obvious name, but think they will go w/someone younger-who’s the #2 guy at San Antonio? My guess is Ferry will hire a younger coach-someone more in the mode of Scott Brooks/Spoelstra…
ATL Spirit still sucks
July 3rd, 2012
7:56 am
Should have traded Joe for the Islanders since that trade and ridiculous contract was one of the reasons the Thrashers left. I mean, really, this was a smart basketball move only if you can actually sign someone next year. Going on the track record of previous seasons, I would say there is next to zero chance of that happening especially with the same ownership group still in place here here. They already did their damage which players have already seen. Ferry would be executive of the year if he could have shipped those idiots out of town with Johnson. Until they go, there is no hope for this franchise and they just went from being in the playoffs to being out for a long time.
BravesFan79
July 3rd, 2012
7:57 am
And people can forget about Howard. Whoever he is traded to he will sign a long term contract with. And CP3 isnt leaving Blake Griffin/ or LA. The player Ferry should be going after, is Roy Hibbert. But after the Blazers offered him a max deal, i doubt its worth offering that much $.
Mike Vick Was Framed
July 3rd, 2012
7:58 am
More blog speculation about Dwight Howard and CP3 than what we’ve got in house. The odds of attracting one or both of those guys is still very, very slim. Sure, we’ll have the cap space, but all these dreams of grandeur may be wishful thinking…something that none of us need to do after years of suffering. What will the Hawks look like THIS year? Can we still contend? Can we still use some of these new players as trade bait to solidify the team THIS year?
Tree Rollins
July 3rd, 2012
7:59 am
I dont think Ferry was hired to gut the team-they could have had a “fall” guy gut the team. The team will make money from selling out the arena, merchandise, etc.
As for league respect, Ferry is quite respected in the league. Joe Johnson I believe was set to be the highest paid player in the league in 2012. Can anyone honestly his salary was commensurate w/his productivity?